Smaller, lighter butterflies may lose out as temperatures climb
A recent analysis published in the Journal of Animal Ecology finds that smaller, lighter-colored tropical butterflies might lose out in a warming world. Researchers caught over 1,000 tropical butterflies in Panama, then measured the temperatures of 54 species of the insect, homing in on 24 species for additional experiments. In the lab, they put captured butterflies in glass jars with water, then simulated human-caused climate change and extreme weather events by raising the waters temperature. Over time, they pushed the temperature from about 82 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit, observing the point at which the insects could no longer function. A butterflys family, wing length and wing color were all associated with its ability to adapt to heat by adjusting its behavior changing position, perhaps, or attempting to find a shadier habitat. Some insects were also better at physically tolerating the heat than others. Bigger, darker butterflies from the Pieridae family were the most adaptive. But members of the second-largest butterfly family, Lycaenidae, also known as gossamer-wing butterflies, had the worst time withstanding the heat. Petite and fragile, the iridescent insects make up as much as 40 percent of all butterfly species around the world. Lycaenidae are likely to be losers under future climate change, and as a species-rich family, there may be high species losses in the tropics, the researchers warn. But while smaller, lighter butterflies are at particular risk, they note, the danger doesnt stop there. Ultimately all insects, including butterflies, the world over are likely to be affected by climate change, said Esme Ashe-Jepson , a postgraduate student at Cambridge Universitys Department of Zoology and the studys first author, in a news release . Adaptation to climate change is complex and can be impacted by other factors such as habitat destruction. We need to address these two global challenges together.